Lana Del Rey Would Have Written A Song For ‘Spectre’ — But No One Asked Her

Lana Del Rey has released four studio albums, 19 singles, and 23 music videos, but has never had the opportunity to record an original song for a feature-length major motion picture. Bringing on a successful, prominent singer/songwriter to craft an original song for a film is certainly no new trend, it’s something that has been ongoing for decades in Hollywood. In particular, the Bond films are quite famous for their opening title sequences, featuring an original song by a popular artist or band. The most recent example was Sam Smith getting to record “Writing’s on the Wall” for the latest 007 movie, Spectre. However, Del Rey recently revealed that hearing a song written and performed by her during the opening credits for Spectre could have happened.

Lana Del Rey, in an interview with NME, revealed that she was actually prepared to record an original song for the film, but no one approached her for the job. “I would’ve done it if I was asked, but I wasn’t asked,” Del Rey said. “I love all of the Bond music that’s been put out over the years and I love soundtracks in general. There are a couple of songs on this record that have a Bond feel, like ’24’ and ‘Swan Song.'” The two songs she mentions, “24” and “Swan Song,” are featured on her latest album Honeymoon. In “24,” Lana is mourning a complicated relationship from her past, while the song “Swan Song” features the singer wishing to run away with her lover and, metaphorically, give one last performance.

While the producers of the film wound up passing on Lana Del Rey, they ended up choosing Smith to record “Writing’s on the Wall.” Some of the most well-known Bond soundtracks include songs like Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger” from 1964 or “Skyfall” by Adele, which earned her a Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe in 2013. Del Rey, however, did manage to cover “Some Things Last a Long Time” for a 16-minute short film entitled Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston, according to MusicTimes.

A photo posted by Lana Del Rey (@lanadelrey) on Dec 12, 2015 at 12:55pm PST

One collaboration Lana Del Rey had this year was with Courtney Love, playing a series of gigs together earlier this summer as part of Del Rey’s Endless Summer Tour. “Touring with Courtney was great, we have some things in common that might not be visible from the outside,” Del Rey says. “I did spend some time with her, and I still see her now and then. I think the most important thing I learned was that some people just have it when it comes to performing. She’s totally entrancing, a born performer.”

Someone else Lana Del Rey seems opening to collaborating with is filmaker David Lynch. His 1990 series Twin Peaks, which is currently being brought back to television in a new series, has had an impact on Del Rey’s music, and she finds herself to be a fan of his work in general. “I would love to do anything with David Lynch. I don’t know too much about what’s going on but I certainly love the original TV series and his movies since then.”

With all that being said, Lana Del Rey does have one of the more memorable musical collaborations this year, with the song “Prisoner” with Canadian R&B artist The Weeknd. When he was recording his latest album, Beauty Behind the Madness, he called upon Del Rey to join him on the track. Recently, the two performed the song live on stage for the first time together, in Los Angeles. It was Weeknd’s second sold-out show at Los Angeles’ the Forum, where he had performed the song solo on the night prior. “I’ve known Lana for almost four years now, she’s a really, really good friend of mine and I want to thank her for coming out tonight,” the Weeknd said as Lana Del Rey exited the stage.

https://youtu.be/oZOTjlrp7HY

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]